Weak
by crimsonnette
Summary: Ed's been trying to protect her from the Homunculi, but something beyond his control gets to Winry first. When she falls ill Ed and Al must take her to Central for help before it's too late, making Ed realize that you really never know when the last time you'll get a chance to say "I love you" is. Ed/Win
1. Chapter 1

"C'mon…c'mon…pick up already…"

Ed tapped his mechanical fingers against the phone impatiently. It had to be a hundred degrees outside, and in the cramped red phone booth it felt like twice that. He pulled on his collar while he waited for someone to answer, feeling the beads of sweat fall down the back of his neck. "Pick up…pick up, pick up, pick—"

A high pitched, flamboyant voice came on the line. "He-llo, Garfiel Automail, Garfiel speaking, how may I help you?"

Ed rolled his eyes, just picturing Mr. Garfiel in one of his showy outfits.

"Uh yeah, I'm looking for Winry..." He looked down at his arm and flexed his fingers. They were moving perfectly, but he had told Al they needed a tune up badly enough that they needed to go to Rush Valley the next chance they got. He felt bad lying to his brother, but they were at a stand still with their research and…

…and he really wanted to see Winry.

The man's response snapped him out of his trance. "I'm sorry, Winry's not in right now. May I ask who's calling?"

_The one time I actually call to make an appointment she's not there…_Ed thought irritably. "This is Edward Elric. Just tell her I called."

He was about to slam the phone on the hook but Garfiel's voice stopped him.

"Edward Elric? Did…nobody tell you?"

He brought the phone back up to his ear. "Tell me what?" The hesitation on the other end made his heart start racing in worry.

"Well, she did say not to tell you…she said she didn't want to bother you and your brother or cause you to worry…of course I assumed someone would have told you by now anyway…"

"TELL ME WHAT?"

"Miss Winry is very ill…it started about two weeks ago, and it seemed like the flu at first, but even after she took time off work it wasn't getting better. In fact, it got worse and worse every day…she had a fever, she was weak and couldn't keep her food down. The doctor said it was some sort virus that's attacking her immune system but that with the resources out here in the country there wasn't a whole lot he could do to help her. He sent her home to Resembool to stay with her grandmother and see if she'd get better on her own. I haven't heard from them in a few days but I don't think she's gotten much better…"

Ed was frozen where he stood, unable to find his voice. _Winry's that sick and nobody told us? _It hit him that granny would have no idea how to reach him, and of course he hadn't called in weeks…

The thought knocked the wind out of him as though he'd been punched in the gut. _If I called and wrote more often, I would have known about this sooner…maybe I could have done something to help…_

His knuckles had turned white; he was gripping the phone so hard. He was trembling and mumbled some sort of goodbye to Garfiel before returning the phone to the receiver. Jamming his hand into his pocket he clumsily pulled out more coins to place a call to Resembool. Each ring that passed felt like a stab in his chest.

_Maybe she started getting better…there's no reason to assume the worst yet…Granny's practically a doctor herself, I'm sure she's taking care of Winry, I'm sure Winry's just fine, I'm sure it's not too—_

"Hello?" Pinako had answered the phone, her voice sounding tired and sad.

"Granny? It's Ed."

There was a pause. The greeting had been so soft that Ed was not prepared for the fiery screams that came out of the earpiece.

"SO YOU'RE FINALLY CALLING HOME, HUH?"

He flinched, feeling guilty. "I heard about Winry and—"

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to track you down when you never call, or tell anyone where you're going, or write from anywhere with a return address? Do you know I called the military headquarters trying to find you and they LAUGHED at me?"

Ed leaned his head on glass of the booth. "I know, I'm sorry…"

"Sorry? I'm just glad you called before it was too late!"

His golden eyes shot open. "What do you mean before it was too late?"

He heard Pinako sigh softly, her voice calming down some.

"You and Al better come home. It's not…Winry's not doing well."

Ed swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat, trying to contain himself.

"We'll be on the next train out."

*********************************************8

Sorry this was rushed! The rest of the story is planned out already so hopefully they won't be as sloppy. This was going to be a one shot but after that short beginning took two pages I realized it was going to be way too long and needed to be at least two or three chapters. I'll update really soon (hopefully!). Leave a review, those always motivate me to write faster haha

~crimsonnette


	2. Chapter 2

Ed's forehead rested on the cool glass of the train window. His eyes scoured the land as they rumbled past but it was clear his mind was somewhere else. There was a steady clatter as the wheels bounced along the tracks, and the light from the moon and stars highlighted his golden hair. Al sat across from him, glancing at him every so often with a worried look. He knew his brother hadn't slept a wink since they departed, even though he must be exhausted by now. Al felt as concerned about Winry's health as Ed did, but he could tell from the burning look in his eyes that Ed felt something else: guilt.

"Big Brother…there's nothing you could have done. Nobody could have prevented Winry from getting sick…" Al wrung his hands together, afraid of saying the wrong thing but no longer being able to stand the silence between them. He expected Ed to snap at him, but he didn't yell. Instead, he slowly turned his gaze from the window to Al, his eyes burning with worry, fear, and sadness. He was silent for a moment, then spoke in a low, deliberate voice.

"She does so much for us, you know?" He looked back out the window and didn't say anything else right away. Al waited patiently for him to continue.

"Winry's always waiting for us, ready to help when we need anything. And all we do is run off the second we don't need her any more, leaving her in the dark about the things we're doing. I can't imagine how worried she must get, always expecting the worst. She always asks me to call or write to her and I never do, even when I have the chance. I tell myself it's just easier for her not to know, but deep down I know that it's not. I—" Ed paused and inhaled deeply. "I don't even remember the last time I said 'thank you' to her."

Al could see the pain in his brother's eyes. He knew Ed wasn't just talking about thanking Winry for her work.

"If I wasn't so selfish I would have called her just to see how _she's _doing, not just when I needed her. Maybe then I would have found out she was sick sooner, and arranged for her to come to Central to see a doctor before she was too sick to travel, and maybe by now she wouldn't be half—"

"Stop, Brother. We can't think like that. Guilt tripping ourselves isn't going to make Winry better. Right now we need to focus on helping Winry and Pinako, not on beating ourselves up about what we could have done."

"It's not what I could have done. It's what I _should _have done", Ed replied. Though his brother's face was stuck on one expression, he could feel Al's glare so he shut up and looked at his hands with a sigh. A moment passed before Al spoke once more.

"She knows, Ed." He looked up and met Al's eyes. "Winry knows that you…that you're thankful for her. That's the thing about people you care about…they already know without you having to say anything."

Ed was thankful for his brother's statement, but that wasn't the only thing on his mind.

_She didn't want anyone to tell me she was sick…because she didn't want to _bother_ me? Have I made her feel so insignificant that she thinks I'd rather do my research than come see her when she's ill? _The thought shot through him like a bullet. He took a shaky breath. _Of course she would think like that. All I do when I actually get to see her is start fights and complain about her work. Even after all that, she still tries to help and I always push her away. I don't deserve an ounce of her kindness, yet she continues to offer it. And what do I do? I don't speak to her for months on end. How can I be so stupid? I love her, and she has no idea. How could she? I've never come close to showing her how much I care, let alone telling her. I couldn't possibly live without her, and when she's practically dying she's afraid to tell me? How cruel and ironic this is…and it's all my doing. How could I entertain the idea of her ever returning my feelings when I'm always such an ass to her? Winry's beautiful, and smart, and generous…I've wasted all my chances to tell her how I feel and now it may be too late…_

The train whistle blew and the voice on the intercom said they were approaching Resembool. Butterflies in the pit of Ed's stomach fluttered as he packed up the few belongings he had. He and Al were the only ones that got off the train, and they journeyed to the Rockbell house alone. They stopped in unison when they got to the long path leading up to the door. Ed's eyes were fixed on the window belonging to Winry's room, his mind reeling with the thoughts he had on the train. Al's soft voice broke the silence, sounding less confident than it had earlier. "I hope she's okay…" he said.

"Me too, Al" Ed replied. "Me too."

They started up the path.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all for all of the reviews, follows, and favorites. It means so much to me! I am (ironically) feeling sick and feverish, and I'm writing this with NyQuil in my system so please forgive me if this chapter is not up to par. I had intended to finally bring Winry into the picture but sadly she didn't make it this time. I hope everyone enjoys anyways!**

Al tentatively knocked three times on the door. Granny was expecting them, but it felt strange to disrupt the solemn silence that seemed to encompass the house. Den didn't even bark at the new arrivals; Ed could see him through the window lying on the couch, barely lifting his head in interest. After a moment the boys could hear soft footsteps coming to let them in, and seconds later an exhausted Pinako flung the door open. Her eyes were ablaze, and she looked like she was going to start on the two like she had on the phone. When she saw the hurt and guilt in Ed's eyes, however, she softened. It was clear he'd already beaten himself up over everything enough on the journey.

Pinako stepped aside. "I'm glad you two made it safely," she said. The boys sat down at the kitchen table, and Ed graciously accepted the food she brought back out from the kitchen. After one bite he realized that despite being starving, he couldn't stomach any food at the moment—he needed to hear more about Winry.

After taking a sip of coffee with a shaky hand, Pinako cut right to the chase. "Winry's been sick for nearly fourteen days with no improvement whatsoever. From what the doctor can tell, it's something attacking her immune system…so now she's fighting whatever she had initially plus any small infections that would normally not affect her. Her fever keeps climbing—last I checked it was about 104 degrees. If it gets much higher her vital organs could start shutting down, plus she's extremely dehydrated. Her body's no longer reacting to the medicines the doctor and I have in stock, but we don't have anything stronger like they have in bigger hospitals. We also don't have any equipment to help lower her fever or steroids to help her fight the infection."

Ed's face was white. Al piped up. "Well…why don't we just bring her to Central and take her to the hospital there? Or have someone from there come up here? Ed's a State Alchemist, I'm sure he could have something arranged!"

Pinako shook her head. "If it was that easy, don't you think we would have done something by now?" Ed looked down at his hands, knowing his brother had good intentions but was being foolish. Of course they would have done whatever they could.

She continued. "We wouldn't have had the authority to send for a Central doctor and supplies without you before, anyways…" She saw Ed's body tense, his eyes wide with emotion. "Not that it mattered, though! Even if we could have sent for a doctor, it would have taken a lot of time for them to assemble the equipment needed, and to find a way to get it all here in the country would be impossible."

Ed relaxed slightly at her words. "But then the only solution would be to bring her there, right?"

Pinako sighed. "We talked about that, too. But with her condition, that would be nearly impossible, too. She's been coming in and out of consciousness, and getting worse every day. She's weak and susceptible to even the smallest virus. We hoped that with a few more days her body would finally break the fever and fight off the infection on its own but…she's only been getting worse."

"If she's only getting worse, we're running out of time." Pinako absent mindedly stirred her coffee.

"The doctor doubts she can survive to the end of the week."

"So the _only _answer is to try to bring her to Central, then." Ed felt his voice growing louder.

Pinako remained quiet. "Well?" he practically yelled. She still didn't say anything.

"Damn it!" Ed slammed his hand on the table. Al and Pinako jumped, startled. "You've given up on her, haven't you?" He jumped to his feet, enraged. "You've already decided not to try the only chance there is to save her. That's why you told me we were almost 'too late'. Because you're just going to let her die without even trying?"

Pinako jumped up, nearly knocking her chair over. Her voice was hard. "You watch your mouth! This is my granddaughter we're talking about." Pinako looked up at him with tears in her eyes and dropped her voice. "I've already lost my son. Don't you think I want to do everything in my power to save the only family I have left?"

Ed looked away and tried to control the anger in his voice. "Then why won't you send her to Central where she at least has a shot at surviving?"

"I told you already…it would be nearly impossible to do. Even if we found a way to keep her from picking up any other illness and keep her fever down, there's a huge possibility that the stress of the trip would kill her, anyways. You're young, and naive. You're looking at this like taking her to Central will definitely save her." She took a breath to steady her voice. "If there's a huge chance she'll die either way, I want her to go in the most comfortable and happy way possible. Under the circumstances I think that it would be better for her to stay home, in her bed, surrounded by her friends and family. If we could figure out a plausible way to get her to Central safely then yes, of course I would want to take that route. I just don't know how that would be possible."

There was silence for a few minutes. Al held his head in his hands, Pinako righted her chair and sat back down, and Ed slowly paced the floor.

"I have a few ideas…I'll need to discuss them with you, Al, and see what you think…Granny…" he paused, and looked her square in the eye. "I can't lose her. If there's even a shred of hope we can save her life, I have to take it."

"I want to save Winry more than anything, boys. You just have to understand I don't want her to suffer any more than she has to."

"I know you do. I'm sorry for yelling, I completely understand your feelings. But I think we can find a way to get her to Central safely. We can run a plan by you and the doctor before deciding anything. But first….I'd really like to see her, if that's okay."

Pinako nodded. "Of course. I'll see if I can get Dr. Mills to come over this late to talk about it." She went into the living room to get to the phone.

Ed looked up the stairs and took a deep breath. "I'll give you a couple minutes alone," Al said, and Ed was extremely grateful. He made his way up the familiar stairs and hesitated for a moment outside Winry's door. When he was ready, he pushed it gently and stepped inside.

**Sorry to sound like every other author on this site but please leave a review, whether it's praise, constructive criticism, suggestions or whatever! Checking my email and seeing a bunch of reviews is extremely motivating!**

**Winry in the next chapter, I promise **

**~crimsonnette **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of my lovely reviewers, followers, and favorite-ers! I appreciate you all so much! I ended up posting an Ed/Win oneshot I wrote out of nowhere today, so I thought it was only fair that I do a short update on this (which ended up being longer than the other chapters combined…haha). I hope everyone enjoys! As always, please review the chapter! Also, if Ed seems to be a little out of character, bear in mind that Winry is dying…so of course he's going to act a little different than usual! :P **

Ed wasn't quite sure what he was expecting, exactly. Maybe for her room to have been transformed into a hospital with medicine and machines scattered about, or maybe for it to look like a place where someone would go to die. What he wasn't expecting, though, was for it to look so…normal. In fact, the room looked just as it did when we had last seen it—tools and sketches lying messily on a desk, a big bay window letting in the moonlight, and pictures of family and friends hanging on the walls. Even Winry, who was lying on her side, looked as though she were taking a peaceful nap, not battling for her life.

Ed stepped as quietly as he could, grabbing a chair from the desk as he made his way to Winry's side. Even in the darkness of the room he could see how pale she had become, and how much weight she had lost. Her chest rose and fell with each shallow breath she took, giving him some small reassurance she was still hanging on. He didn't want to wake her, but at the same time he couldn't help but lace his hand around hers gently.

Winry didn't stir when he reached for her. She was facing him, on her side, with her hair falling softly down her back and around her shoulders. Ed could see the purple bags under her eyes, made even more prominent in contrast to the whiteness of her face. Her hand that wasn't currently encompassed in his was lying relaxed near her cheek, where her face looked surprisingly tranquil. _Even when she's this sick she manages to look so pretty_, he thought, noticing how the moonlight made her blonde hair sparkle.

Although she didn't _look_ days away from death at first glance, it didn't take long for Ed to grasp how sick she really was. Even with the few feet of distance between them he could feel the heat radiating off of her; he didn't need a thermometer to know she was burning up at a dangerous temperature. Despite the heat, though, her body was shivering; she was covered simply by a thin sheet and nothing else. It was necessary in order to keep the fever down, but Ed knew how uncomfortable she must be. Despite being six degrees above normal, she would be getting the chills and wanting more blankets.

Ed slowly brought her hand to his lips and held it there briefly, before leaning his head down and resting his forehead against their clasped hands. "Oh god, Winry," he whispered gently. "I'm so sorry for not getting here sooner. I'm sorry I couldn't help you faster, and for not calling, and for being always being an ass and for always breaking your automail and for calling you a 'gear head'…" His voice broke, remembering all the stupid stuff he'd done to her. "I'm sorry for never telling you I was sorry for all those things until now."

He took a deep breath, and then looked up at her still sleeping form. "We're going to save you, Winry, I swear. I'll do anything in my power to make sure you get better."

There was a soft knock at the door, and Ed turned to see Al peeking in. "Mind if I come in and see her?"

Ed cleared his throat, trying to pull the emotion back inside. "Yeah, sure." He scooted his chair over so that Al could sit on the ground next to him; his little brother was so big that even sitting down he was tall enough to see over the bed. As he got down, however, his armor made loud squeaks and clanking noises, and despite his attempts to be as quiet as possible, they saw Winry stir.

Her free hand gently rubbed her eyes and brushed the hair out of her face. She tried to sit up and see what was causing all the commotion but found she was too weak to hold herself up on one arm. Laying back down, she turned her attention to the hand that was being occupied by someone else's, and slowly brought her gaze up from the entwined fingers to the form it belonged to. Meeting Ed's eyes she smiled lightly, then looked to his right and saw Al. Her smile grew.

"Ed…Al…you made it…" she said in a small, tired, yet happy voice. Ed felt his heart melt. He wanted to say something reassuring or sweet, but all he could come up with on the spot was a lame, "Hey, Winry. How're you feeling?"

"Mmm…" she mumbled, and said something they couldn't quite make out.

"Granny was telling me about this," Al said. "She comes in and out of consciousness, sometimes where she's actually aware of her surroundings and, more often, she's just confused and out of it…". Ed swallowed, glad that she knew they had made it but wishing he could do or say something that would make the situation better.

"…glad you're here", Winry whispered quietly. It was the only thing she said that the boys could actually make out before she fell back asleep. Ed reached across and tenderly swept her bangs across her forehead, tucking them safely behind her ear. "Of course we're here, Winry. And we're going to get you better."

Knowing that Al would be the last person to judge him, Ed leaned across and kissed her on the forehead. He stood up, though leaving Winry's side was the last thing he wanted to do, and faced his brother. "I think I've thought of ways to get Winry to Central. Let's go talk to Granny."

"I have more than enough money to buy out an entire passenger car", Ed started. He was sitting on one side of the kitchen table next to Al, facing Pinako and Dr. Mills, who graciously came over despite the late hour. "Al doesn't have a human body and I haven't been sick in years, so there's a good chance neither of us will pass anything to Winry. I'll have an ambulance waiting for us at the station so we don't have to worry about contaminates there, either."

Pinako nodded slowly, and looked at the doctor for approval. "Okay, that takes care of one thing…" he said, looking over a list he had made of things they needed to take care of. "Do you have a way to keep her temperature down?"

Ed's eyes brightened. "Yes. Watch this…" He grabbed a pitcher of water that rested on the table while Al pulled off his metal head. Ed poured the entire thing inside of his brother, then clapped his hands.

"Feel Al's arm" he said confidently. Pinako and the doctor reached over the table.

"Oh! It's cold!" she said with surprise.

"Yeah! I froze a thin layer of water throughout the inside of Al's body. He's made of metal, so he'll absorb the heat Winry's putting off and be able to maintain a steady cool temperature. With a thin blanket over him it shouldn't be too cold. We can also adjust how the temperature in the train car itself. Granted it won't be the most comfortable way for Winry to travel, since he'll have to hold her…"

The doctor looked over his papers, contemplating the proposal. "You'll have to monitor it closely, if it's _too_ cold it could be detrimental."

"Of course", Ed and Al said in unison.

"You'll need to watch her temperature too, every half hour, and keep note of it."

"Uh-huh"

"And you'll need to be extremely careful with her, and make sure she gets in contact with as few people as possible."

"We'll do whatever it takes, doc."

Dr. Mills twiddled his mustache, deep in thought. He looked to the boys, then to Pinako, then back to his notes. Finally he cleared his throat.

"Well Ms. Rockbell, I see nothing wrong with their plan. With the resources they have at their disposal and their willingness to look after her on the trip, I think it would make perfect sense to give it a shot. Of course there are still some dangers involved." He looked at Ed and Al. "The physical stress of being moved about and from the trip itself might be too much for her. There could be problems with the train arriving in Central on time, and obviously time is a huge factor here. She could still pick up some illness and not be able to fight it off, and of course, my estimation could be wrong, she may not have as long as I thought originally…". He paused for a moment. "But, in my professional opinion, even with all the risks it makes more sense for her to attempt the trip than to stay here."

The boys shifted their intent stares from the stout doctor to Pinako. "So…Granny, what do you think?"

Pinako looked up and saw the desperation and eagerness in Edward's eyes. "I don't want my little granddaughter to suffer…but I think you two have come up with a solid plan. If the doctor approves then…please, take Winry to Central and get her treated." Her eyes shone with tears. It was understood that she wouldn't be able to make the trip with them, with her age and health making it hard for her to travel. She knew this could be the last time she got to see her granddaughter. Edward stood and walked over, and gave Pinako the biggest hug he possibly could.

"We will, Granny. I promise."

Pulling back, she looked him in the eyes. "Edward, are you sure you can do this?"

"Of course, we've got everything figured out—"

"No, boy. Are yousure _you_ can handle this? Are you prepared to deal with the possibility that she won't make it?"

Edward shut his eyes at the thought of Winry dying in his arms. "I won't let that happen."

Pinako opened her mouth as though she was going to argue more, but the fight went out of her. "The first train leaves at 7:00 AM. We should all get some…" She was going to say 'sleep' but caught sight of Al. "We should all get some rest before tomorrow. Doctor, thank you so much for coming. Ed, there's a cot with some extra blankets and pillows up in Winry's room, if you'd like to sleep there…"

Ed was filled with gratitude. "Thank you Granny. And I promise we're going to bring Winry back safe and sound and healthy."

Pinako gave him a sad smile and nodded, too choked up to speak. She led Al into the living room where he could spend his night with some old books, tending to the fire. Ed was left alone to have the worst night's sleep he would ever have, lying next to the girl he loved who was slowly dying beside him.

**A/N: Next update soon. Don't forget to review! Also, I realize most people outside of friends and family don't know Al doesn't have a real body…but for simplicity's sake let's assume the town doctor knows haha. **


	5. Chapter 5

**MY APOLOGIES FOR THE FOLLOWING THINGS: 1. For not having updated in so long (college takes up any and all free time) 2. For all the grammatical errors in my last update. I was in such a rush to get it uploaded I didn't proof read as well as I should have…also I'm realizing that my asterisks that I use to separate parts of the chapter aren't showing up and without them it's confusing when the scenes change. Sorry, I'm working on fixing that! 4. That it's not a very long chapter.**

**I meant to keep going with this but I got busy again so I figured a short update is better than no update. **

**Finally, I'm not as used to writing chapter stories (let alone ones as serious as this) as I am writing one shots, so please review with constructive criticism or compliments! I appreciate all the people who have favorited or followed the story, please leave a review after you read too! :]**

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_You're too late…_

The voice echoed around him, filled him to the core. It bounced around in his head, repeating over and over the words that filled him with fear and dread. He looked around, but he was alone.

Suddenly a bed appeared before him. The room was dark, save for a single light hanging over a figure that lay on the mattress. Whoever it was, they were completely obscured by the sheets and blankets.

"W-Winry?" he called out in a shaky voice as he neared the seemingly sleeping form. He reached out, his hand ready to uncover whatever was lying there and—

Nothing. He yanked on a corner, and the blankets fluttered to his side, but the figure was gone, leaving nothing but a dent in the mattress.

"_You're too late…"_

He turned quickly. In front of him stood his childhood friend in a plain, white hospital gown. Her skin was ashy and her hair fell limply around her shoulders.

"Edward." she continued. Her eyes were cold, solemn and dark, more black pupil than bright blue iris. He reached for her.

"You were too late."

He took a step towards her just as blood started to trickle, then pour, from her nose and mouth. It flowed out in buckets, all at once, into a puddle at her feet. He ran to her side as her body went limp, collapsing to her side. She fell, her body landing heavily in his arms.

"Winry? NO! WINRY!"

She wasn't breathing. Her heart was still. She was dead.

"NO! WINRY! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I tried…please, forgive me…"

Edward sat straight up in his makeshift bed with a yelp. His heart was racing and though he had been asleep, he was completely out of breath. He was dizzy with the memory of the dream, and had to look over at Winry's sleeping—and breathing—form several times before being able to calm himself down.

The sun was just barely beginning to peek out in the horizon, though the rest of the sky was still a dark blue. Ed ran his hands through his hair in an attempt to get them to stop trembling. _Get a hold of yourself. It was just a dream._ They shook anyways.

He walked over to the mirror hanging on Winry's wall and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. After tying back his hair into its usual braid and sneaking one last check on Winry, he stepped out of the room to start preparing for the day.

He found his brother downstairs in the kitchen, scrapping some clumsily made food onto a plate. Al looked up at his brother's arrival and, noting the dark circles under his eyes, could tell he hadn't gotten much sleep. Ed nodded at him as he sat at the table.

"You'll need to eat, brother. We have a long trip ahead of us."

Ed gave a half smile at his brother in appreciation, but there wasn't any warmth behind it. He forked some of the food into his mouth, even though his stomach was twisted into knots. He ate it without really tasting it but said "It's good. Thanks, Al."

His brother walked over to the opposite side of the table and started to assemble a pile of the items and supplies they needed for the trip. After a couple minutes Al slumped into a chair with a loud _thunk _and looked over at Ed. He couldn't show any facial expressions, but his tone of voice was grave.

"I shouldn't be doubting our plans or losing confidence but…I'm nervous, big brother. I know I can't sleep, but even if I were able I doubt I would have. It's just really scary seeing someone we care about so sick."

Ed's fork clanked in his now empty bowl. He nodded. "I had nightmares all night."

"Do you really think we have a chance? Can we really get Winry to Central safely by ourselves?" Al's voice was anxious, panicky.

_Pull yourself together,_ Ed told himself once again. He had to be strong. For himself. For Al. For Winry.

But he didn't want to lie to Al, either. Clearing his throat he said, "I can't think of a better plan than what we've got now. If it doesn't work, I don't think there's anything else to be done. We've covered all the bases the doctor has ordered, so…I do think it will work." He paused. "That's not to say I'm not worried too, though."

Al made a noise that sounded like the equivalent of someone taking a deep breath. "Okay. Then we've just gotta give it our best. Are you ready? We should get going soon."

Ed nodded once again. "Yeah. Let's say goodbye to Granny."

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A horse drawn buggy arrived outside of the door, right on time. The driver looked a little irritated about being called in so early, but the lump of cash Ed handed to him kept his mouth shut. The back was loaded up with what few belongings he and Al had brought, along with Winry's medicine, clothes, and odds and ends they would need for the trip. Pinako stood in the doorway of her home, watching the boys pack up. When they finally finished, they turned towards her.

Al tried to stay standing tall and strong, so as to not give Pinako any doubt about what they were doing. Ed walked over with his hands in his pockets with an expression she couldn't quite place.

"That's everything, I think. I guess we should say goodbye now before we grab her."

Pinako reached out her arms and Ed leaned into her hug. After a few seconds she embraced Al in the same way, with tears in her eyes. There really wasn't anything else to say, so they all went into the house. Pinako sniffled and wiped her nose with a kerchief. "She's all dressed and ready to go. I tried to explain what was going on but she…" She stopped to blow into her kerchief one more time. "She was dazed and disoriented before she fell back asleep, so…"

Ed had never seen Pinako so choked up before. It was hard to watch without feeling his own throat tighten up. "Alright then. Al, you ready?" His brother responded by pulling off his metal head.

Edward poured a pitcher of water inside and clapped his hands together. He had demonstrated the same thing merely hours before for Pinako and the doctor, but if felt like ages ago. After deciding he was satisfied with his work he led the way up the stairs and into Winry's room.


End file.
